Stalin and the Kirov Murder

Conquest, Robert

Scarce 1st edition hardback in dj., very good condition. 164 pages. Internally crisp and clean, hard covers clean and unmarked, as is dj., a very nice copy. No previous owner marks. This is the first book length examination of the case of the assassination of Sergei Kirkov, Secretary of the Central and Leningrad Party Organisation, December 1st 1934. This assassination was arguably one of the most significant crimes of the century; not only did it seal the fate of thousands - and indirectly millions - of people spuriously linked to the killer, but it also eliminated the second most powerful man in Russian politics, giving Stalin free rein to dominate Soviet policy. Roy Medvedev, a Leninist dissident later stated of the flawed investigation "The investigation was carried out in complete violation of the law, of common sense, of the desire to find and punish the real culprits." Robert Conquest chronicles this tale of intrigue and cover-up, and establishes what has long been rumoured - that the noly person capable of executing a crime of such epic proportions was Josef Stalin himself.

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